Mr. Robert Lynch
ARTSBLOG
For Arts Professionals in the Know
The Arts in Kansas took a heavy blow Monday when Gov. Sam Brownback signed an “executive reorganization order” abolishing the Kansas Arts Commission, transferring the state agency’s responsibilities to the Kansas Historical Society. The governor is also proposing cutting the arts budget from around $800,000 to $200,000, which will be used to assist in the transition from a state agency into a private organization, the newly-formed Kansas Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. (It is unclear if this organization actually has its non-profit status, or will need to apply for it, a process that can take a year or more.)
This is sad news on several fronts.
Last year, Americans for the Arts and state arts advocates defeated six serious attempts to eliminate state arts councils across the country. If the Kansas legislature fails to overrule the governor’s order, Kansas will be the first state in decades to not have a state arts council.
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On January 31, National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman posted a blog about (1) the issue of supply and demand in the arts and (2) the ratio of arts administrators to artists. I had the opportunity to augment the first point using additional data as well as clarify the second in my posting. Because these are two issues that may arise for you, we thought it worth posting here so you have the facts at your fingertips.
An examination of years of trend data indicate that demand for the arts is indeed lagging supply. The good news is that it also indicates that audiences are not walking away from the arts, but rather broadening how they choose to engage in the arts.
There is also one noteworthy correction to be made in the Chairman’s numbers and thus, one of his points.
On the supply side:
In our annual National Arts Index report, released just two weeks ago, we track the Urban Institute’s count of registered nonprofit arts organizations as one of our 81 national-level indicators. In the past decade, the number of nonprofit arts organizations in the United States has grown 45 percent (75,000 to 109,000), a greater rate than all nonprofit organizations, which grew 32 percent (1,203,000 to 1,581,000). Or to take the more startling look, between 2003 and 2009, a new nonprofit arts organization was created every three hours in the U.S.
Read MoreWolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts recently launched an innovative Early Childhood STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Learning Through the Arts initiative that builds upon its 30-year history developing and delivering early childhood arts education programs.
In this podcast, Arts Education Program Manager Tim Mikulski interviews Wolf Trap Foundation Senior Director of Education Mimi Flaherty Willis about the program.
Read MoreIn January, most of the Americans for the Arts network councils gathered in Washington, DC, to participate in their annual Winter Meetings to share information and develop work plans for the year.
During the two-day Emerging Leaders Council meeting, we had a valuable discussion around connecting more deeply to the 32 Local Emerging Leader Networks that are currently in existence, while also providing resources and services to the individual emerging arts leader who does not have access to regular professional development or a local network.
In my two years of working with the Emerging Leaders Council, I have been excited about the evolution of their conversations as they develop strategies and ideas to reach out to the field, providing resources for growth and professional development.
Meanwhile, back at our offices in DC, one of our focuses within the Local Arts Advancement department at Americans for the Arts is the idea of moving from arts leadership to community leadership. How does your job as the marketing associate at a local theater change when you begin to think of yourself as a community leader, now in the position of being able to connect with your community, and invite them to participate in an art performances that are relevant to them?
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